Obama EPA Creates Jobs at Big Stone

O.K., all you coal whiners who thought President Obama and we enviro-whackos killed the Big Stone II power plant and hurt the economy, listen up: President Obama is making it up to you. The Environmental Protection Agency is supporting a $300 million project at Big Stone I that will employ 200 to 300 people for three years.

The project? EPA has ordered Otter Tail Power to update its emissions controls and reduce pollution at its big coal plant in Grant County.

How's that for green jobs?
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Update 2010.02.23: A Grant County neighbor shares scans of the original article from the Grant County Review, Wednesday, February 10, 2010 (click to enlarge and read). In response to Mr. Mercer's question below, the article says that the upgrades to BS1's pollution controls were indeed part of the original BS2 plan, in which emissions from BS1 would simply have been routed to the new plant. So we're still getting the environmental benefits BS2 boosters used to sell BS2, just without all the extra coal usage.

Project manager Mark Rolfes says the project will cost $200 million to $300 million and will require increases in electric rates. "The costs of the upgrades will have to be looked at and justified," he tells GCR. "Although it is an expensive project, it is much cheaper than building a new plant."

Remember, BS2 was going to cost $1.6 billion.

Construction likely starts in 2012.